Something Bubbling in the Heartland

[babylonsister]

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/7/12/2109975/-Something-Bubbling-in-the-Heartland

Something Bubbling in the Heartland
Michael Lux
Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)
Tuesday July 12, 2022 · 4:49 PM EDT
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The conventional wisdom of the DC pundits in 2022 is that the Democrats are doomed, and that the biggest reason for their impending downfall is working-class voters outside of urban America. But the DC pundits are almost always wrong, especially when they are pontificating about working-class voters who don’t live in the coastal metro areas that pundits almost never leave. I would suggest to you that it is too early to tell, and that in fact something really interesting is bubbling in the heartland of America.

I have been spending much of the last year talking with activists and voters in Pennsylvania outside of the Philly metro area, and the Midwestern states that some people disparagingly refer to as the Rust Belt. I am the board chair of American Family Voices, a nonprofit where we launched the “Factory Towns Project.” With Lake Research Partners and TargetSmart, we have commissioned polling, focus groups, and in-depth analysis of voter files, census tracts, economic, and health care data of the working-class voters in small and midsize counties in this region. In addition, part of our project is conducting one-on-one and small group discussions with hundreds of activists and organizers.

What we have discovered might surprise all those Beltway purveyors of conventional wisdom. Yes, there are tough challenges for Democrats in these counties, but it is not the hopeless landscape that many people assume. The worst approval ratings in our polling were not for Democratic politicians or the party, they were for wealthy corporations and corporate CEOs. Voters are upset about inflation, but more likely to blame price gouging monopolies than Joe Biden. A messaging strategy that combines economic populism with a focus on kitchen table economic solutions, and an organizing strategy that builds local communities, can help bring back these voters -- both swing and base voters who have been less inclined to go to the polls lately.

All of that, plus the simple idea of making sure Democrats pay enough attention to these kinds of voters and counties, is the path to winning back working-class voters who live outside of big cities.

The even better news is that Democrats are beginning to use this kind of approach in a lot of places in the region right now, and it seems like it has the potential to pay off. Look at what is going on in the states:
Biden courts disastrous fight with fellow Democrats over McConnell’s forced birther nominee

In the local elections held in Wisconsin in April, despite a widely predicted “red wave” in a low turnout election, which traditionally favors Republicans, Democrats won 53% of the 276 contested local elections on the ballot, holding their own in the purple areas in the state. Meanwhile, Wisconsin Governor Evers is leading both Republican candidates fighting it out in the primary, one of them by four and the other by seven percentage points. Ron Johnson -- who has a trail of controversies and damaging quotes a mile-long -- trails three of the four Democrats running in the primary for the Senate seat.

In Pennsylvania, Republicans are fleeing their far-right extremist gubernatorial nominee as fast as they can, while Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman is running a great populist campaign, and currently sports a 9-point lead in the public polling.

In Ohio, where Republicans presided over what the Columbus Dispatch called the biggest scandal in the country, the Republican governor is sitting at only 45% in the polls in spite of having universal name ID after a 46-year political career in the state. Meanwhile, the latest public poll has Tim Ryan leading by 44-41 for the open Senate seat, and Democrats had a great year in mayoral races there last year.

In Iowa, Democratic primary voters surprised the DC Democratic establishment by rejecting former Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer, who had much higher name recognition and a big fundraising start, and picking former Navy Admiral Mike Franken 55-40. Franken’s background and strong presence on the stump is making a big impression on Iowa voters. Given that only 27% of voters wanted 88-year-old Chuck Grassley to run again in an earlier poll, this could be a sleeper race.

In Missouri, Republicans look likely to nominate Eric Greitens, the former governor forced to resign by the Republican legislature over multiple scandals. Democratic candidate Lucas Kunce, a 13-year Marine veteran who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan and has a powerfully populist message, is leading in the Democratic primary. There is polling showing him essentially tied with Greitens right now. In the meantime, an added twist to the race is that a heavyweight Republican lawyer who was a clerk for Clarence Thomas, is entering the race as an Independent, saying he can’t stand the idea of Greitens becoming a senator. So Republicans will be splitting their votes.

In Nebraska, there was a special election a couple of weeks back that was a huge surprise in historically Republican CD 1. In a special election ignored by the DCCC and most Democratically aligned groups, where the Republican heavily outspent the Democratic candidate, Democratic candidate Patty Pansing Brooks lost only 53-47. While this district still leans Republican, it actually got four percentage points more Democratic due to redistricting, and the district includes Lincoln, where the University of Nebraska is located and where Brooks is very strong. A big turnout of young people in the district could put Brooks in the winner’s seat.

The other point I want to make about the region as a whole is that Democrats are leaning into the Factory Towns strategy. John Fetterman, Tim Ryan, Nan Whaley, Mike Franken, and Lucas Kunce are all from medium-sized factory towns, and they are all running strong economically populist campaigns against far rightwing candidates who have embraced Trump and all his bullshit.

The working-class industrial heartland -- the Midwest plus Pennsylvania -- has historically been the biggest battleground region in the country. It moved strongly toward Reagan in the 1980s, toward Clinton in the 1990s, to Obama in 2008 and 2012, and then veered toward Trump in 2016. There is something bubbling out there this year that is going to surprise a lot of people.

[Peacetrain]

1. I have been seeing that and saying it..

People are antsy here.. and I do not think it is necessarily good for the republicans.. I really do believe this itchy twitchy attitude in the non aligned or independents could rock the boat in Iowa this fall..

Don't forget people.. it was Iowa that first went Obama.. people here can be moved

[Samrob]

12. Me too. The focus of the messaging is important. We just need more of it!

Connect the dots (the links) of a lot of our economic woes to big corporations with record profits but still keep raising prices unnecessarily, including oil companies. Link these CEOs to the GOP that keep giving them all the tax breaks and who stand in the way of effective regulation of these monopolies.

[Amishman]

2. Economic issues are the key to saving this country

excuse the shameless cut and paste, but I posted this a few days ago and it goes well here.

We are the mice that have fallen into the bucket trap, viciously fighting and climbing over each other as we try to keep our heads above water.

All the growth has gone to those at the top, the rest of us are fighting for the same amount of pie, divided across more and more mouths. In rage and frustration, too many drift to extremes. They blame and attack their fellow victims, wrongly blaming them based on what differences they can perceive - race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, cultural values.

Wages are not keeping up, and our societal infighting is escalating. We need to fix the system so that growth goes first and foremost to the masses; the 90% before the 1%. Remove the financial desperation and despair, and I believe you will begin draining the hate.

This is also the key to saving our party. We're fracturing on social issues, particularly race and identity. The Pubs are cleverly attacking things on the fringe of social acceptance, things that make the typical voter uncomfortable. By framing things so we end up very publicly defending things like 'drag queen story time', they drive a wedge between us and the general public.

Make workers and wages the centerpiece of our platform, and stay on message as much as we can.

[leighbythesea2]

10. Good points

Used to be the abortion issue was the thing that repubs dragged us over into the ditch on. Forget which dem strategists said this first. Then it became LGTBQ issues as well. While absolutely important (hell, w Roe we see), when the economy is tough, best messaging is about the economy, and working issues. Wage & income disparity has grown so much during pandemic, many do understand corps (and greed) are the reason.

We do get forced to talk about things you mention, & it creates a frenetic-too-many-topics-at-once phenomenon. Hell, my daughter is part of LGTBQ, and we discuss this.

At work, am in design, & when researching & presenting trends we use "Edit to Amplify" as our mantra. No point in telling everyone every "big" trend, bc too many makes them all meaningless. It also makes the designers stressed bc they think they have to "hit" every trend. Impossible, if there's too many. Communicate 3 largest, or less. Not sure this is a great anaolgy, but we know now, in this election, "everything" is at sake. Literally, right? But you can't message everything.

But everyone pays bills, & it's a viseral, daily event. The OP is heartening, at least!

[McKim]

14. You got that right!

You got that right! Going for kitchen table economics is the key to success. 50 years of low wages and rising prices have enraged people, Trump took advantage of their anger. Now it is our turn as Democrats to raise up the concerns of workers and meet them with solutions.

[McKim]

15. Great message!

This is excellent! Focusing on wages and benefits and government help to families can win the day! Trump took advantage of workers being left behind and he fed their anger and he used it against us!

[Cracklin Charlie]

3. I saw pictures here...

Of a Lucas Kunce town hall meeting in Clay County, Missouri. This county is to my immediate north.

Ya’ll…I couldn’t believe my eyes. You couldn’t have put another person into that building, and people outside peering through the windows. All ages (important indicator, to me).

Clay County is not a democratic stronghold. Adjacent to Kansas City, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen anything like this, anywhere outside Kansas City or St. Louis.

[Rebl2]

9. I believe

Last edited Wed Jul 13, 2022, 12:18 PM - Edit history (1)

I will most likely vote for him. A woman also running that have heard of recently, Trudy Busch Valentine, I am reluctant to vote for. She just started running, as far as I know, in the last couple months. Mr. Kunce has been running since last year I believe.
I have been annoyed with our local stations (KCMO). They have only talked about republicans running for office and say nothing about the democrats 😖

[Cracklin Charlie]

13. Ain't that the truth?

If you watch local teevee, you’d have no idea a there was even a democrat in the race!

I will vote for Kunce, but I’m hearing rumblings about a New Democrat who has entered the race. You might want to check him out. Spencer Toder. He seems to have recently entered the race, and is not wasting any time. He is currently at work trying to shut down the abusive boarding schools in Missouri. I am not sure his chances of election are great, but I sure appreciate his efforts toward abusive schools. Seems like someone to keep an eye on.

[Rebl2]

27. Did Toder

just get into the race like Busch Valentine? Have never heard of him.

[Cracklin Charlie]

31. I think more recently than Trudy.

I just saw yesterday for the first time. It was in a story about recent efforts to close down that Agape boarding school. He is after those guys.

I kinda like what I see.

[JackSabbath]

4. Doesn't it seem a bit obvious..

...that mostly conservative owned news outlets and beltway pundits would like to give the impression that Dems are losing. So that when we WIN they fein surprise at the result and suggest possible foul-play? The whole 'election fraud' storyline has made them rich.😡

[Kid Berwyn]

5. Well, if we did that we might win. Ask Dr. Dean.

Good golly! Think what might happen with a clear majority and a united country. Shudder!

[Pepsidog]

6. Hopefully Dems will listen and build on these ideas.

N

[rubbersole]

7. I'm in Florida and I see it daily.

People (golf buddies) who are lifelong repubs, political or not, don't like this nazi bullshit. DeSantis is not popular. Even the guys that have stocks and vote on tax issues are disgusted. I'm surprised. And hopeful.

[CaptainTruth]

20. Glad to hear it!

What part of FL are you in?

I'm in east central & there are signs for Repub candidates everywhere (like school board) who are running on anti-CRT anti-LGBTQ "grooming," "save our children" BS.

The only Dem candidate signs I see are the ones I've put out, 25 so far, & I'm hoping another candidate will give me a bunch to put out.

[rubbersole]

23. New Smyrna Beach (paradise)

After a month of rehab coming up, I'm volunteering and try to do what I can to get people to understand how important it is to vote.

[jonstl08]

8. Agree

I live in a red area of Missouri but quite a few people I know who vote GOP are questioning that party now. Will it matter in November. Who knows but if Greitens is the GOP nominee he could be defeated.

[Farmer-Rick]

11. It's all about buying votes

The GOPers buy the white evangelical, and crazy religious people's votes with forced birth and other theocratic laws which don't impact the filthy rich.

They buy their campaign contributions with tax giveaways and subsidies to the filthy rich. It impacts the middle class and poor but those aren't the voters they want.

They buy racist votes with laws that restrict people of color and immigrants which don't impact the filthy rich.
People of color and immigrants probably won't vote for them but those aren't votes they want.

The crazier the idea the easier it is to buy their votes. Because crazy people have simple crazy ideas that can be easily implemented without impacting their other voters like the filthy rich.

The Dems don't buy votes. Like forgiving student loans and legalizing canabis, there's a lot Dems could do to get voters.

I think Dems should start buying votes.

[babylonsister]

18. Nah, no vote buying; I don't want to be anything like them. nt

[Farmer-Rick]

32. If your choices were civil war or vote buying which would you chose?

You do realize when Trump runs against Biden, Trump is going to rig the election. The next presidential election will be rigged by GOPers and the Supreme are going to rule in favor of their sugar daddy. Where do you see that going? I see a looming kind of civil battle.

But really if you look at what I wrote, it really isn't vote buying.

Do you really think passing laws and policy is vote buying? I couched it like that because that is how the right wing will spin it and if you aren't willing to stand by some radical actions by Dems, you are going to end up with a rigged election and civil war. I really see that in our future in the US.

If you don't go radical left, you will lose the tiny pieces of democracy the US has remaining. Then you better brush off your passport because the GOPers will be coming for all left leaning Americans next.

To tell you honestly, it doesn't mater what is brewing in the heartland. The GOPers are going to rig the next presidential election. And what exactly are the Dems going to do then?

[Uncle Joe]

16. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread babylonsister.

[spanone]

17. ...K&R...

[PatrickforB]

19. One of the greatest things our party can do right now, in terms of messaging,

is to aggressively take on the mantle of 'party for workers.' We lost that mysteriously when the snake Reagan slithered into the presidential race in 1980 and then left the slime trail into the White House in 1981. I have no idea why, but way too many workers voted for him and it just got to be a habit for them to continue to check the R box on ballots.

WE NEED TO AGGRESSIVELY CHANGE THIS.

Not only have the Republicans TOTALLY lost the mantle of being the party of law and order and of families, but they really cannot by any stretch of the imagination be called the working people's party.

Except they ARE calling themselves that, and we need to change that. They are NOT the party of the workers, nor are they the party of business. They are instead the party of billionaires, wage slavery, death, treason and Gilead, and are intent on making this republic into a dictatorship.

EVERY ONE OF OUR CANDIDATES NEEDS TO POUND ON THESE ISSUES.

Not to mention healthcare. We squander $770 billion on last year's war budget, and nearly a trillion this year, and blew $4 trillion on the two forever wars. WHERE IS OUR HEALTHCARE?

[tiredtoo]

22. It is my understanding the working class

decided the Democratic party was no longer supporting their desires. The party had placed their focus on splinter groups and overlooked the workers. Or assumed they were a sure thing because of unions.

[CrispyQ]

37. So they switched to the party of big business? -nt

[PatrickforB]

42. Yep, they did. Because the GOP isn't ever gonna air a commercial saying,

"We are the party of big business so we are fighting against unions, for pollution, for shareholder profits, for billionaires and we routinely ignore the needs of the very people who vote us into office. But, hey, buy more guns!"

Are they?

But this is what they stand for. But consider all the slogans they've put out over the years.

They told us that unions take away worker choice.
They told us that the 'death tax' is bad and needs to be repealed.
They told us we can't afford healthcare.
They said if we 'socialize' medicine you won't get to choose your doctor!
They solemnly intoned that 'Murika ain't nebber gonna go SOSH-A-LIST!
They say the Dems want to bring in Sharia law.
They say the Dems support lawlessness and immorality.
They told us we have to be rugged individualists.
They told us government isn't the solution, it's the problem.
They told us if we cut taxes for corporations so many new jobs would be created the government would actually collect more.

Blah blah blah. In other words, the GOP is great at messaging, and has consistently fooled millions of working Americans into voting for them and directly against their own interests. You know this. I know you do.

The Democratic party is the only major party still supporting democracy and the republic. BUT WE HAVE TO GET BETTER AT IN-YOUR-FACE MESSAGING everywhere - social media, cable TV, network TV, radio, websites etc. Gotta do it.

We need to be POUNDING on kitchen table issues like healthcare, cost of college, controlling corporate price gouging, getting women back their rights. POUNDING on these things.

If you are a student of politics as I am, and many others on here are, you can remember that Obama beat Clinton in '08 BECAUSE HE CAMPAIGNED ON HEALTHCARE. I volunteered for his campaign when I had never in my life done anything but just vote BECAUSE HE CAMPAIGNED ON HEALTHCARE. I made dozens of calls for his campaign.

In 2016, Bernie nearly won the primary and managed to move the Overton window to where over 70% of us support Medicare for all Americans. I can remember that primary like yesterday, and while I'm not willing to refight it, as you may well feel differently, in my opinion trolls on social media rammed a wedge down our throats and we were cruelly split into people who were focused on kitchen-table economic issues - the stuff that appeals to just about everyone versus social justice. Frankly, without getting into the arguments, I will say I was sickened that we as a party fell for the wedge and split, with many not voting. So Trump won.

I know that is a simplistic version of a very complex set of campaign issues, and complex emotions regarding both candidates on the part of major parts of the voting public. But they did drive the wedge, and it HURT OUR MESSAGING TO THE POINT WHERE TRUMP WON the Electoral vote. Russia helped, and Putin is doing his part even now, trying to put the screws to the Democrats over gas prices because he knows we are the party that supports the republic and democracy, and that if we win chaos will be averted.

So yeah, we still need to POUND on kitchen table issues. The kind of issues people worry about. And now that Roe has been overturned we have a MAJOR talking point to counter anything the GOP comes up with viz prices.

[llmart]

58. Yours is a terrific post and analysis of what needs to be done.

I'm not in PA and have no idea if Fetterman will win, but I look at him and think he is campaigning the way all Dems should. He appeals to working class people. He gets it.

I do believe that messaging is the number one answer. All of us on DU believe that climate change issues are important and we support LGBTQ issues, but we can't make that the focus of our messaging. We also can't be too much like eggheads with our messaging. As much as we'd like it not to be this way, most voters aren't as intellectual as we are. They just want to hear stances that are simple as you've said.

[Sympthsical]

36. We sat back and watched Republicans dismantle unions

I think it really is as simple as that. Allow the disintegration of worker's rights and worker leverage, and we got the comparative low wages and lack of protection horror show we see today.

Mix in the lack of a minimum wage increase (it should be $13.44 today when compared to 1968), and the corporate classes got a stew going (I'd complain, but they put rainbow flags on everything, so I know they really care about me as a person).

Even post-COVID, all the wage gains got completely overshadowed by inflation. Rents are going up, up, up - four times faster than income.

It feels like all we do is tinker around the edges while the bottom continues to drop out.

This cannot continue on forever. The Great Depression didn't just happen. There was a solid ten years of crisis happening underneath the economy that everyone studiously ignored until it blew up in their faces.

[summer_in_TX]

46. Agree. +1

They are NOT the party of the workers, nor are they the party of business. They are instead the party of billionaires, wage slavery, death, treason and Gilead, and are intent on making this republic into a dictatorship.

Another way to say that is the Republicans are trying to take away Americans' personal freedoms. So many examples to pick from to remind voters of what's happening.
• Freedom for women to make life and health choices for themselves
• Freedom for doctors to provide healthcare to women without being second-guessed or threatened with incarceration
• Freedom to be oneself
• Freedom to speak the truth or to withhold personal information about who you are, in school and other public places
• Freedom to be safe rather than subjected to political intimidation
• Freedom to keep your family safe, not threatened to be ripped apart by unjustifiable CPS investigations
• Freedom to be safe from gun violence in our schools, theaters, churches, and workplaces
• Freedom to read what we want to read and to have reading materials available without fear of threats of censorship (so long as the content is not exploitative, obscene, profane, or indecent.
• Freedom to vote without excessively long waits and to receive water while waiting if beyond 100 feet away from the polls
• Freedom to vote without poll watchers watching my every move
• Freedom to serve as election and poll workers without minor clerical errors leading to state jail felonies as well as false accusations and threats
• Freedom for public health officials to make public health recommendations and for those recommendations to be adopted
• Freedom for those dealing with public health data to track and record accurate information without loss of job or data being removed or manipulated

Tip of the iceberg but tyranny is lumbering towards us. I hope voters are paying attention.

[tiredtoo]

21. ok, I am looking for a short. 3-4 words

Phrase to put the blame for inflation on the greedy corporations and the greedy CEOs. This would be for my billboard project next October.
All suggestions appreciated, thank you.

[tiredtoo]

28. ok just got this

End Corporate greed.
Vote Democratic

[Sky Jewels]

24. The fall of Roe and SCOTUS overreach will be a factor, too.

Killing the right to privacy is NOT popular. Tens of millions of people are pissed off and there will be a not insignificant portion of people who would not normally vote in midterms who will turn out to vent their anger.

[Demsrule86]

25. I live in Ohio and I see it here. Tim Ryan helped Delphi workers who lost their pensions completely

When GM was restructured also. Ryan did so much good. My Gop neighbors voted for him when I lived in Cortland.people don't realize the blow the rustbelt took with globalism.

My neighbor who worked for Delphi hung himself in his garage. People went from a middle class life to dire poverty and were promised retraining but there were no jobs...to this day retraining is considered bullshit.

[Sky Jewels]

26. I believe Ohio has more potential to go back to purple than some other states

Unlike the more rural "heartland" states, it has a lot of small/medium sized cities all over the state which bodes well for bringing more people back to the D's with the right messaging and voter outreach.

[Demsrule86]

50. The factory Town strategy should be adopted in every rust-belt state. It is a winner. Trump won

these states in large part because he promised to help shore up manufacturing. He would have had no chance otherwise. It would not have been close enough for Stein and her groupies to have an effect. And of course, Hillary Clinton was blamed in Ohio for NAFTA which is unfair as her husband did it not her. Bill Clinton has said repeatedly he regrets this. Also, the TPP push didn't help. I saw ads about this.

If we can peel off votes from the rural areas, and win the cities strongly which is what Georgia did in 2020, we can beat Republicans in Ohio. I believe we can do this using a factory town strategy and campaigning in every corner of the state. As we speak internals and other polls show Tim Ryan up by four points. Fetterman and Ryan are running on this...as are other rust-belt Democrats. It should be used by house candidates as well.

[Sky Jewels]

52. Yes. Good points.

I'm originally from Ohio (Cleveland, but my dad grew up in that former steel town, Youngstown) and it has been heartbreaking to watch Ohio turn into a Republican stronghold. The Tim Ryan numbers are so encouraging.

[Demsrule86]

56. I lived in Austintown and Cortland...and now live in Bedford near Cleveland...great little town.

I worked with the UAW every election, and they felt betrayed when globalism was accepted by both parties. You know the 'jobs are not coming back shit' which I have seen posted right here over the years. Tim Ryan like Fetterman has support from some Republicans and independents because of the pension issues he worked on for Delphi employees. They lost their pensions due to the GM bankruptcy. My neighbor in Cortland hung himself in his garage after losing his job and pension. And right now GM may have to reimburse workers from a recently closed plant because they violated the contract...Tim Ryan was instrumental in this.

[Novara]

29. I don't think I'll ever fully understand how the working class got so damned conservative

They were pro-union and solid Dems when I was growing up. At least in Michigan they were.

Racism?

Ignorance?

The massive inequality between rich and the rest of us? Naw, that should have made them more solidly Democrat.

[Joinfortmill]

35. A movie star President? Just a guess.

[Demsrule86]

51. Really, you can't fathom it? The rust-belt lost millions of jobs since globalization which sadly

some Democrats supported...many went from comfortable middle-class status to poverty in the blink of an eye. People who lost health care died. It is one of the reasons Romney lost Ohio...his equity businesses destroyed lives. The Mid-West was screwed six ways to Sunday. In every election, candidates from both parties promised help which never arrived after the election.

We were promised jobs and 'retraining' which was a joke as the few jobs paid shit and often didn't exist. My husband spent 30 years working in autos. He is a quality engineer. Every plant he worked at is gone. The last one was Lordstown Ohio. It devastated the community and still does. Ohio was promised jobs but, I can tell you that it didn't happen HIB visas were used to get workers from all over the world and it is now owned by Foxconn so it is bullshit just like in Wisconsin.

I have never seen a policy that enriched the few and destroyed the many implemented mostly against the will of the people as globalization was...we make no electronics these days, or much clothing...steel is mostly gone. We use scraps to make recycled steel in small companies which even with improved wages don't pay close to what the old steel jobs paid. And it is not just the midwest either...go down to Southern Georgia where the old garment factors used to be...those areas have still not recovered.

[Novara]

53. No, it still doesn't make sense to me because the republicans never helped the little people

After NAFTA fucked factories all to hell, Democrats bolstered policies to strengthen the social safety net while republicans preached leaving people out in the cold to fend for themselves.

Globalization was going to happen anyway. People could see the writing on the wall.

And even if NAFTA blew it for the Dems, that was a generation ago. When have republicans helped the little people except to give them permission to openly hate others? It doesn't explain current politics. Dems stand for unions and working people and a strong social safety net while Rs stand for screwing working people.

The only conclusion I can draw is that the Rs have done a phenomenal job fooling people.

[Deminpenn]

30. As a resident of one of those old mill towns

in western PA, could not agree more. That is what is attracting voters to Fetterman.

[Demsrule86]

54. As mayor of Braddock, Fetterman brought manufactuing jobs to the town, lived there amongst

the people and is beloved because he kept his word and cares.

[Deminpenn]

59. All of Western PA knows the story

of Braddock and Fetterman.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

33. radical Republicans feed the filthy rich and suppress the rest

[Joinfortmill]

34. 👍

[BadgerMom]

38. K & R

[Tall Poppy]

39. Just Donated! Thanks for the great work

American Family Voices donation link:

https://www.americanfamilyvoices.org/donate

[FakeNoose]

40. Thanks for this encouraging news

I believe the Dems are going to vote in big numbers this fall. Nobody will stay home.
Or maybe they will stay home, and mail their ballots in.
We all know how important this election is.

Let's go Democrats! Vote like your democracy depends on it.

[DownriverDem]

41. Good to hear

I am so strongly a Democrat, it's hard for me to understand how non-rich voters would ever vote MAGA repub.

[BootinUp]

43. K&R

[Martin68]

44. I'm sticking with Biden until it looks like he's a losing proposition. so far I haven't seen that.

Biden is probably the best candidate to draw in disillusioned Republicans. We need them to win.

[stopdiggin]

48. I think the general electorate would be completely disillusioned

(as would I) with the party that decide to jettison - or shoulder aside - a man with the amount of decency and experience as the one currently sitting. Yes - sometimes a shiny new toy (with apologies to some supremely qualified people) builds some excitement, and attracts a few new votes - but unless my math is just totally out the window ...

[bhikkhu]

45. My personal hope? The Heartland just wants to left alone

As in - people mind their own business, and leave other people to mind theirs in return.

That's an acceptable compromise to me, liberal as I might be. The GOP is miserably bad at minding it's own business. I'd hope that people could generally recognize that at some point, and vote in their best interests. It would be nice to have a hope actually come to pass, though it has been some time since that has happened.

[halfulglas]

49. I just came home from visiting Western Pa,

Family members who do a lot of news channel surfing including Fox misinformation. I was surprised there hasn't been more push back from Dems about the story of poor Supremes can't even eat in privacy without demonstrators showing up. Oh, the horrors. Everyone seems to understand wanting some privacy. I'm surprised that there wasn't push back in that Alito and Thomas insist we don't have a right to privacy but why should they have a right to privacy if the rest of us don't. There is a lot of shock and will be more as it sinks in how severe some of these new anti-abortion laws are and it affects someone they know.

[Demsrule86]

57. No, the rustbelt needs economic renaissance...perhaps green energy jobs are the future.

We have always been left alone except during elections when every candidate turns up and then disappears after the election.

[H2O Man]

47. Recommended.

We are going to kick the stuffing out of republicans in November.

[PCIntern]

55. Yep. I gathered this was going to happen